Count to Three

Last year, two brothers named Cody and Brodie Lowe produced a pro wrestling movie called “Three Count.”  They star in their movie as a pair of masked Tag Team wrestlers struggling to find success in the ring — or at least scrape up enough money to survive.  The film is 50 minutes long and is available on YouTube.

Kit is the younger, angrier brother who always wears fiery red in and out of the ring.  Older brother Barry prefers the color blue and seems to have more experience in (and more passion for) the pro wrestling game.

The brothers, a rather handsome pair, are struggling with the recent loss of their father while also struggling to make a name for themselves in pro wrestling.  They live in some desolate locale where the barren landscape and lack of opportunities weigh as heavily on them as their regrets and failures in life.  Their desperation is palpable and their conversations are loaded with solemn undertones and weepy eyes — it’s beautiful really.

Barry plays the Face-in-Peril

The brothers wrestle in about four brief Tag Team bouts, starting with this beat-down by a martial arts expert in a judo coat.  Our heroes call their team “Los Perros Locos” and wear awesome golden masks, with Barry in shiny blue trunks and Kit, as usual, in red.  Where did they get those hot masks?

Between wrestling gigs, the boys face turmoil and danger: being laid off from their day jobs, a stick-up at the gas station, even an attack by WWE superstar Braun Strowman.  But the film shows us the powerful bond of brotherhood as they love and support each other.

Barry suffers an illegal Double Suplex.

These actors are not experienced pro wrestlers (despite how great they look in their masks and boots.)  They consulted with a pro veteran to quickly teach them some moves, and they filmed all the wrestling scenes in a single afternoon when they had access to a ring.  So the wrestling action is not the quality of the top federations, but the scenes are carefully shot and edited to add excitement and hide any flaws.

The film is about the loving bond of brotherhood, so any competitive sport could have been chosen as the backdrop to develop their relationship.  They could’ve been beach volleyball players, or a doubles tennis team, or synchronized divers.

But these guys selected Tag Team wrestling as the theme for their movie, and you better believe I applaud that choice.  To portray wrestlers, they had to bulk up their physiques and learn a decent number of moves, so I’m sure it wasn’t easy, but I love movies about pro wrestling so I am sure glad they made the effort.

Barry is all shook up in a crushing Bearhug.

In the climactic final bout, a wrestling promoter has come to watch the “Mad Dogs” in action, presumably to award them a contract and put them on the road to fame and fortune.  But the boys are also told to take a dive, so they face a moral dilemma.

As the promoter looks on, Barry is caught in a Bearhug and bounced around — a nice visual as you can see.  Later, he is knocked down and the film ends, leaving the viewer to decide whether he laid down for the Three Count.

I enjoyed the wrestling scenes, the gear choices, and the many passionate conversations between these brooding, doe-eyed brothers.  It may not win any Academy Awards, but as a fan of the sport, I found it to be an entertaining production and a nice addition to the list of rasslin’ movies that I dig.  And damn do they look stunning in those golden masks!